To refresh your memory: I signed up for MoviePass in May of 2018. It was awesome for the first two months, as I saw a ton of movies on their dime. It was too good to be true though, as they quickly began hemorrhaging money. In order to survive, they began imposing a series of increasing Draconian restrictions on the card, that literally made it impossible to use. I wasn't about to pay ten bucks a month for nothing, so I canceled at the end of October 2018.
Honestly I didn't give them a second thought after that, and pretty much forgot all about them.
That's why I was surprised to see them back in the news today. Apparently MoviePass is "going dark" for the next few weeks, as the troubled company overhauls its mobile app (???).
In a letter from MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe, "There's never a good time to have to do this But to complete the improved version of our app, one that we believe will provide a much better experience for our subscribers, it has to be done."
Who the hell does this? What company in their right mind would shut themselves down while they upgrade their goddamned phone app? No one, that's who! Imagine if the power company, grocery stores and hospitals all shut down for routine server maintenance!
You upgrade your app in-house, and when it's ready you do a live update. You don't shutter your freakin' business while the update's in development! Jesus Christ!
It's patently obvious that this upgrade story is a lame smokescreen, designed to disguise the fact that MoviePass has run out of money yet again. In fact later on in the same letter, Lowe said the company hoped to recapitalize, and would continue its efforts to cut costs.
It would not surprise me one bit if this is MoviePass' swansong, and it simply never comes back after its little break. This upgrade story likely a way to save face as they go down for the third time. You heard it here first! R.I.P. MoviePass! For real this time!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.